Beam projectors are used in media presentation environments such as business meetings, home theaters and the like. In general, the beam projector has taken the place of overhead projectors, slide projectors, and other devices used for showing visual presentations. For example, it is common in a meeting to connect a laptop or other computing system to a beam projector and then project a media presentation that everyone in the room can observe (e.g., slideshow, video, real-time data, or the like). In most multimedia type rooms, the beam projector is mounted on the ceiling and hardwired to an outlet on the wall and a user connects their laptop with the hardwiring to utilize the beam projector.
However, multimedia rooms are cost prohibitive. Therefore, an office building may have a few multimedia rooms but generally not all the meeting rooms will be multimedia rooms. Additionally, in the non-multimedia rooms, it may also be necessary to view a visual presentation. Therefore, a presenter may carry a portable beam projector to ensure that they will be able to show the visual presentation even if they do not have access to a multimedia room.
Portable beam projectors also provide the ability for a presenter to hold a meeting in a location other than the multimedia room or even the office building. For example, the presentation may be shown at the back room of a coffee shop, a restaurant, or any location that has a power outlet.
However, one drawback of a portable beam projector is the cooling time after the beam projector is turned off. For example, a standard beam projector requires a long time delay (many minutes) of fan operation after shutdown to allow bulb and optics cooling. For a mounted beam projector hardwired to the building power, this may not be a concern. However, for a portable beam projector, it means that the presenter must wait a long time delay (many minutes) after the visual presentation ends before he can unplug and pack-up the portable beam projector.
Beam projectors, both mounted and portable, also require an amount of cooling during their operation. Specifically, the light-generating source of the beam projector gets extremely hot and requires a fan to provide the cooling to maintain the life of the bulb. However, when the fan is operational, noise from the fan is loud enough to interfere with conversations. This problem is even more pronounced when teleconferencing or video-conferencing is used during the presentation. In that case, the fan may provide negative feedback to the conferencing microphone causing disrupted reception for the off-site personnel.
In addition to the cooling issues discussed herein, beam projectors both mounted and portable also contain drawbacks with respect to sharing, multiple presenters, and the like. For example, during a presentation the beam projector is a “dumb” device. That is, it functions as a monitor. In order to use the projector it must be connected to a computing system. Therefore, not only must a presenter ensure that a beam projector (e.g., mounted or portable) is present, the presenter must also ensure that a computing system is available for connection with the beam projector. In some cases, e.g., multimedia rooms, the beam projector may be connected with a desktop computer. In other cases, the user will have to hook a portable computer up to the beam projector.
With respect to the mounted beam projector and its associated desktop computer, a presenter may not want to (for security reasons) load his presentation onto the machine or the user may not be allowed to load his presentation onto the desktop computer thereby rendering the beam projector unusable. On the other hand, when connecting a portable computer with the beam projector, it is tedious during a presentation to change the connection between laptops for each speaker's own portable computer. In addition, it is not uncommon for missing or incorrect drivers to cause non-operation or delays in the presentation process.
To save time, in some cases, all the presentations may be loaded onto a single user's portable computer prior to a multi-person presentation. However, in a competitive environment, it is not always acceptable to competitors to allow their presentation information to a stored on a competitor's computer.